Federal courts open to students

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Ali Saldana, Lizeth Rojo, Tesfa Habebo and Melissa Cruz got sworn in as jurors during the Open Doors to Federal Courts mock trial.

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Kern County Bar Association President David Torres questioned witness Tatiana Simon, under the watchful eye of Presiding Judge Theresa A Goldner.

Reading about why America's court system exists and learning about it in the classroom is helpful for Kern County high school government students. But on Feb. 13, the doors of an actual courtroom were opened so students could see how a real judge, lawyers and witnesses conduct a trial - putting the whole Constitutional process into an interactive perspective. Called Open Doors to Federal Courts, it has become an annual event for high school seniors in Kern County and is presented by the Kern County Bar Association - Charitable Foundation, Kern County Superintendent of Schools, United States District Court - Eastern District of California, Ben H. and Gladys Arkelian Foundation and Harry and Ethel West Foundation.

All of the students are enrolled in government classes, and the program provides an important supplemental link to the curriculum they receive in the classroom. It took place at the Kern County Board of Supervisors' Chambers in Bakersfield, offering more seating capacity for the dozens of students than would have been available in a traditional courtroom. Each student received plenty of informative printed materials dealing with such things as understanding federal courts, probation and pretrial services and numerous publications from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement dealing with such topics as enforcing laws against violent street gangs, sexual predators and unlawful employment.

The morning was spent seeing an example of the courts in action. United States Magistrate Judge Theresa A. Goldner presided over a mock trial dealing with a college student's alleged illegal downloading of copyright-protected music and recording it for sale. Acting as defense lawyer was real-life Bakersfield attorney and K.C. Bar Association President David Torres. U.S. Prosecuting Attorney Ian Garriques presented the case against the defendant. Various witnesses included the defendant's roommate, an FBI agent and others. Several students got to be a part of the process, getting sworn in as jurors.

Taking plenty of notes and nodding in agreement as the trial progressed was Samantha Vasquez, a student in South High's Criminal Justice Academy.

"This is excellent," Vasquez said. "I've never been to a trial before, and you can't experience this in a classroom. It's great to see it first hand. I like that the judge explains what is happening. You get to gather knowledge from experts in the field with real legal experience."

Bakersfield High School student Violet Mendova appreciated the effort put forth during the trial.

"They are acting like this is a real trial," Mendova said. "They are really working hard and must have spent a long time getting ready, which makes you appreciate how well you might be protected if you were ever on trial."

The day also had a career day component to it. Following lunch, students were introduced to numerous jobs available working for the United States government. They heard from and got to ask questions of park rangers; FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency and Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents; United States deputy marshals and Judge Goldner.


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